


For You

by CapricornHunter



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drama, Gen, Hookfire - Freeform, Self-Sacrifice, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-06 19:03:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14063463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CapricornHunter/pseuds/CapricornHunter
Summary: When Neal, Killian, and Emma realize what must be done to revive Rumplestiltskin, Neal offers to pay the ultimate price. Instead, in an act of love for the young man he once knew, Killian takes his place.





	For You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MarieQuiteContrarie (SeaStar1330)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeaStar1330/gifts).



> Hey guys! So I decided to put my current SQ WIP on hold to pump out this little fic... I was talking to my good friend MarieQuiteContrarie about why Wish!Hook is so much better than Hook Prime and I eventually laid out my idea of how his story should have ended in the show. This is the result. 
> 
> #IDare
> 
> Hope you all enjoy!
> 
> Also, this is a retelling of THAT scene in 3x15 "Quiet Minds". Assume Emma and Neal have already had their talk just before this fic begins.

“Baelfire!”

Neal and Emma turned around and saw Killian trudging through the forest, using his hook to cut through any wayward branches. One still ended up hitting him in the face.

“What are you doing here?” Neal asked when Killian finally reached them. He had a fresh cut on his face from the branch that hit him, but he looked fine. 

“Did something happen to the others?” Emma questioned, worried that something happened and Killian had come to find them. He shook his head.

“No, everyone is fine. I wanted to speak to Baelfire about something,” Killian said, looking at his… He didn’t know what to call him.

“It’ll have to wait. We’re looking for Gold.”

“He can come with us,” Neal said, giving Emma a reassuring nod at her curious glance. “Another set of eyes can be useful.”

Emma just shrugged and kept moving. It wasn’t her business if Killian had something to say to Neal.

The two men stood there awkwardly. Neal thought about the hug at the hospital and rubbed the back of his neck. 

“So uh...wanna keep going?”

“Aye. Let’s find the old Crocodile.”

Neal pursed his lips at the old moniker but said nothing. If the pirate wanted to talk, he would talk. 

Emma kept a respectful distance ahead of them, and it took a while for Killian to begin.

“You know how I feel about your father, but I do hope you find him.”

Neal shot him a disbelieving look.

“You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t find that totally sincere.”

“It’s the truth. I wouldn’t-”

“Lie? Is that what you were gonna say?”

Killian closed his mouth but kept walking, staring at his hook. He walked into that. He didn’t come here to argue, though.

“I don’t want to lie to you anymore,” Killian said, keeping his voice even. “Like I said, I hate your father for what he’s done to me, and to you, but I’m willing to bury the hatchet with him if I must.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Neal muttered. Despite his words, he did want to believe Killian. Being lied to all his life changed him in ways he didn’t want to admit, and learning to trust again was difficult. Then Neal thought of Emma and how he betrayed her, and he thought maybe he could trust Killian again if Emma was learning to trust him. 

This line of thinking was a little too deep for him at the moment, so he shook his head and continued walking, catching up to Emma.

“Had enough?”

He sighed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his green jacket.

“I’d rather just look for my dad right now,” Neal said, keeping close to Emma. “I can talk to Hook later.”

They walked in silence, completely in synch, and the only other noise was the crunch of Killian’s footsteps somewhere behind them. Neal peeked over his shoulder and saw that that the pirate was far enough away from them. He didn’t want to be interrupted.

“Hey, Emma… I just wanted to say-”

Emma’s phone rang and cut him off. She gave Neal an apologetic look and answered it, hoping Belle had something good to tell her.

While she was on the phone, Killian walked over to them and stood beside Neal.

“I meant what I said.”

Neal gave him a look, but Killian stood his ground.

“...About?”

“I want to do right by you. Why do you think I let you go from the hospital? Gave you a headstart?” Killian asked, knowing that Neal wouldn’t come up with any selfish reasons for his actions, try as he might. 

Talking about his feelings was difficult. Killian always had a way with words, one needed it to survive the life he lived, but charming someone to his advantage was completely different from being sincere and honest with someone. It was all the more challenging when that person was hurt beyond measure because of him.

Neal didn’t look very comfortable either, but he wasn’t running away, which was good. 

“I have to admit, that was generous of you,” Neal said, conceding that point.

“When you said…” Killian began, pausing to get his bearings, “When you said you wanted to make things right with your son… It reminded me of those days on the Jolly Roger and how our relationship ended.” He fiddled with one of his rings, twisting it around until it almost fell off. He cleared his throat, eyeing Emma and watching her facial expressions change from confused to shocked. He decided to ignore it.

“I know you’re not that same boy anymore, Baelfire-”

“Yet you keep calling me that,” Neal interrupted, eyebrow quirked.

“...I just want you to know that no matter what, I treasure the time we spent together,” Killian continued, voice earnest and sincere, “And I regret my actions. I should never have betrayed you like that.”

Neal said nothing. He looked at the ground, eyes closed in contemplation. This was the second time he had a conversation like this: once with his father, and now with Killian. The irony was not lost on him that two people who hated each other with such passion also loved and cared for him in the same way. At least, with the way Killian was talking, it certainly seemed like he did.

“Look, Killian… Can we continue this later? We kinda have a witch to stop.”

“Yes, of cour-”

Neal screamed and fell to his knees, gripping his head and nearly pulling out his hair in anguish. 

“Neal!”

“Baelfire!”

Emma dropped next to him, forgetting her phone, and reached out to comfort him but stopped just short. She didn’t know if she would be a help or a hindrance.

“Do something, Swan!” 

Emma whipped her head up and saw a worried Killian just standing there. She glared at him. Like he was of any use right now.

“Like what? Heal him? I never learned how! I don’t even know what’s wrong!”

“Just bloody try something!”

Their arguing was cut short when Neal howled in pain and their attention was once more on him.

“Neal? Neal, talk to me. What’s going on?”

Instead of answering, Neal wrapped his arms around his stomach, almost like he was trying to keep himself together. He took deep, heaving breaths, and that’s when he changed. His face mutated until it looked like Rumplestiltskin’s face, and Emma and Killian flinched back. 

“What the Devil…” Killian breathed, eyes wide as he watched Neal struggle.

“Emma...Emma, I…” Neal struggled to speak, and his voice was distorted, a mix of his own and Rumple’s before his face went back to normal and his voice stabilized.

Emma was silent, processing the sight before her. Belle’s call moments ago had been enlightening, if confusing, and she reached for Neal’s hand to confirm her suspicions.

“Oh no…” she murmured, cradling Neal’s hand and staring at the nasty burn that marred his palm.

“Neal, what did you do…?” 

All the pieces fell into place then, and Rumple’s sudden disappearance and crazed mutterings started to make sense.

“I think Gold is inside you,” Emma said, mind racing with the realization. “I think that’s how you’re still alive.”

“I hear my father’s voice in my head. He’s in there. He’s  _ in _ me.”

Neal swayed back and forth on his knees, the headache worsening and pressing behind his eyes now. He was breathing hard, sweating from the effort it took just to stay awake and upright. 

He forced himself to look at Emma, staring into her eyes as he gripped her arms and made his request.

“I need you to help me, E-Emma. Use your magic. S-separate me and my father.”

Emma looked mortified at the suggestion. She immediately shook her head.

“What? No! You’ll die!”

Killian looked just as shocked. Did Neal understand what he was asking? 

“Baelfire, you don’t have to do this,” he said, trying to get through to him. “Swan...Emma can find another way.” The hurt he felt in that moment was something he hadn’t felt in a long time. Neal had only just come back, after being shot and lost in the Enchanted Forest, after everything they went through together in Neverland. They had just gotten him back. 

Killian had just reunited with him.

“It doesn’t matter,” Neal groaned. “You need my dad more than me...to figure out who the witch is...to save the town.” He looked back at Emma. “You need to do this.”

Emma’s eyes watered and she felt her throat close up. She couldn’t do this. She didn’t  _ want  _ to do this. Maybe...

“I’ve never done something like this before. Not like this.” It was true, she hadn’t, and she hoped it would be enough to convince Neal to try something else. He wouldn’t be swayed, however.

“Do it, to save you and Henry.”

Emma still hesitated.

“ _ Please _ ,” he gasped.

Emma allowed herself a moment to indulge in the dread and the fear that threatened to overtake her, but she squared her shoulders and prepared herself for what was to come. She just wished it didn’t have to come to this.

Neal gripped her hands tightly, arms shaking with the effort to keep still. Emma held his hands just as tightly, closing her eyes as she focused on reaching into herself as far as she could to draw out all her magic. Her figure trembled as the raw energy passed through her body, and she concentrated it into her hands. She felt the magic pulling, attempting to draw Rumplestiltskin out and separate the two men.

Killian watched on, horrified at what was happening. Neal was in pain, so much pain gritting his teeth didn’t stop the low cries from coming out. It was an awful sound. Killian couldn’t look away, amazed and a little disgusted at the transformation taking place. Neal’s face morphed into an almost perfect replica of Rumplestiltskin’s face, and it unnerved him to see the Crocodile’s face on Neal’s body. Eventually his face returned to normal, but it flickered between showing Rumple’s face and going back to Neal’s. 

The shaking worsened and Neal couldn’t contain the desperate sounds of agony anymore. Everything hurt. His head was splitting in two, he just knew it. His eyes burned and his jaw tensed and his fingers cramped from their grip on Emma’s hands, but he had to endure it. He had to. This wasn’t just about him anymore. He had a family to protect.

Killian had to make a decision. This was the last chance he would ever see Neal again, the last chance he would ever have to make it up to man he betrayed all those years ago. He had done his part to bring Emma and her son back to Storybrooke, and he had finally given up his quest for revenge. He had nothing left now. Except…

This was his chance. He would finally do right by Neal.

Lunging forward, Killian fell to his knees and grabbed Neal and Emma’s joined hands, fingers digging in to maintain his grip. Emma’s eyes shot open as she stared at him, but didn’t disconnect their hands. 

“Hook, what the hell are you doing!?”

“The right thing.”

Suddenly Neal stopped shaking and he collapsed, letting go of Killian and Emma’s hands. He gasped for air but slowly lifted his head, squinting to see through the pain-filled haze. Instead, it was Killian who was writhing around in agony, his hook digging into the soft earth while maintaining his grip on Emma’s hand.

“Killian…” Neal grunted, bracing his hands against the ground and pushing himself up. He was slow, still weak from the attempted separation, but he eventually got to his knees and went to reach out for the man.

“NO!” Killian yelled, waving his hook around to ward Neal off. “Don’t come near me, Baelfire.”

Neal winced in pain and confusion, and suddenly he realized what was happening.

“Emma! Let go of him! Stop your magic!” he warned, reaching out but eventually pulling back. He was afraid to touch either of them.

“I-I can’t! It won’t-it won’t stop!” Emma tried to wrench her hands away, but it’s like they were glued to Killian’s hand, and the flow of magic refused to be disrupted again. She started trembling again, feeling the magic pulling and drawing something,  _ someone _ , out. It was starting to hurt.

“Emma! Emma just...just hang on, ok?” Neal felt powerless, unable to help Emma or Killian. They both shook, anguish contorting their expressions, and Killian’s face started to change. 

“Uagh! CROCODILE!” Killian screamed, back arching and neck twisting as pain shot through his body. He could hear Rumplestiltskin in his mind: the cackling of the Dark One, the whimpering of the spinner centuries ago, the threats uttered by a powerful ‘Mr. Gold’. It threatened to tear him apart, piece by piece, until there was nothing left to salvage.

“GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!”

There was a bright flash of light and Killian was thrown backwards, landing awkwardly against a thick tree trunk. He groaned, head lolling to the side and chest heaving.

Emma opened her eyes and stared at Rumplestiltskin, brown eyes wide in confusion. He looked down at his hands and then slowly turned his head to see Killian slumped against the tree.

“Bae…?” he called softly, lowering his hands and keeping them close.

“I’m right here, Papa.” 

Rumple whirled around and saw Neal sitting behind him, looking tired but unharmed. 

“Oh, Bae… You’re alive,” Rumple said, reaching out and pulling his son into a hug. The last time he saw him… Rumple felt a lurch in his chest and immediately leaned back, holding Neal at arms’ length and looking him over.

“But how? Using the key a-and reviving the Dark One at the vault…” He paused, then looked over his shoulder at Emma. She looked haggard and stressed, but he didn’t care at that moment.

“What have you done?” Rumple hissed, and Emma shuffled back a little.

“What? No, don’t blame her,” Neal said, bringing his father’s focus back to him. “I asked her to do this. It was the only way to bring you back so you could stop the witch and save the town.”

Rumple ignored that, and instead grabbed Neal’s hand and turned it over. The burn was gone.

“The mark… Where did it go?” he muttered, and Neal inspected his hand as well, turning it over but finding the skin perfectly healed. There wasn’t even a scar.

“Killian.”

Neal stood up and ran over to the pirate, kneeling next to him. He gingerly picked up Killian’s hand and looked at it. There, in the middle of his palm, was the burn mark that had been on his own hand several minutes earlier. 

“Baelfire…?”

Neal swallowed and gripped onto Killian’s hand.

“You uh...you really did a number on yourself there.” Neal knew it was a weak attempt at a joke, but he said it anyway. Killian looked so weak and drained; fragile.

“I’ve been around a long time, lad. I didn’t survive on my dashing good looks alone,” Killian said, coughing into his shoulder but wearing a tiny, pained smile.

“I guess not.”

Neal turned at the crunch of footsteps and saw Emma and his father standing behind him, looking down at Killian with sadness and apprehension. At least, Emma looked sad.

“He’s not...he’s not gonna be alright, is he?” Emma questioned, voice soft. Neal frowned and shook his head, turning back to Killian and leaning a little closer.

“You didn’t have to do this, Killian. I was prepared to pay this price. It was my burden to bear.”

Killian shook his head, holding onto Neal’s hand tightly.

“I did have to. You have a family, Bae. A life of your own. I couldn’t let you sacrifice yourself when you have…” Killian trailed off, a stabbing pain seizing him momentarily. Neal hesitated, but wrapped his free hand around Killian’s shoulder and brought him a little closer, hoping to provide some comfort in his final moments. It was the least he could offer.

Killian squeezed his hand gratefully, but then he looked over Neal’s shoulder and stared at Rumplestiltskin. The man’s face was stony and he stood completely still, saying nothing. Killian couldn’t help the sneer that twisted his mouth.

“And do not think for a moment I’ve done this for you, Crocodile,” he jeered, wincing. 

“Perish the thought,” Rumple murmured, unperturbed by the pirate’s barbs. He was just happy his son was safe.

“Y-You know,” Neal said, drawing Killian’s attention back to him, “I didn’t think I’d see you die for me after my father did the same a year ago. You know how to make someone feel special.”

Killian grinned and nodded.

“Aye, though in fairness...I never expected to either.”

Neal chuckled in response, but his face grew somber as he thought back to his time aboard the Jolly Roger. He learned how to sail, how to fight and to defend himself, and he was given a real home and a family. 

It made Killian’s betrayal hurt so much worse.

“A part of me always thought I’d hate you,” Neal said, and Killian perked up to really listen, “For what you did, for selling me to the Lost Boys… But I still think back to the fun I had, sailing on a real pirate ship and sword fighting and learning about the stars. I’ll always remember that part of you, Killian; the part that cared.”

Killian sat up a little, grunting with the effort, and brought his hook up and rested it against Neal’s arm. He angled it away, careful not to tear into his jacket, and Neal noticed that small gesture.

“I want you to live the life I never got to, Baelfire,” Killian said, wetting his lips before continuing. “Be a good father to your boy, and be the man I always believed you could be.” 

Neal nodded, grasping Killian’s forearm with his free hand.

“Your sacrifice won’t be in vain. I swear.”

Killian waved it off.

“You deserve to have a life. I’ve lived mine, and squandered it. There’s nothing left for me now.”

Eyes squeezing shut in pain, Killian squirmed into a slightly different position to ease the discomfort. He felt like a weight was pressed down on his chest, restricting his breathing and crushing his heart and ribs. He looked up at the treeline to distract himself from the agony he felt, and instead focused on the colours he could see and the memories he had of a simpler time.

“When I heard you had died,” Killian began, voice breathy and low, “I was so torn inside. I thought I would never have the chance to make it up to you, and yet… Here we are.” Killian looked at Neal then, bright blue eyes still alight with life, and offered a wistful smile.

“I finally changed, Bae. For you.” 

Neal stared at Killian, feeling his chest constrict at those words. He remembered when Killian first promised him he could change, and now, years later…

“Yeah, Killian… You did,” Neal whispered, his eyes watering slightly. 

Killian seemed more at peace, as if satisfied with Neal’s approval. He laid back against the tree, his body feeling heavier with each passing second. It was a struggle to keep his eyes open.

“I expect...I’ll be reunited with your mother soon…” Killian mumbled, his eyelids drooping. A small smile curved at his lips, and he let out his last breath.

Neal didn’t move, holding onto Killian’s hand still. One tear escaped as he realized that his friend had passed. He heard a quiet sniffle behind him and turned to see Emma with red-rimmed eyes. His father hadn’t reacted except to close his eyes, but that he expected. Rumple reached out and put a hand on his shoulder in a silent show of support, and Emma kneeled down next to him to wrap an arm around his. 

Neal stared at the ground, but his gaze ultimately landed on Killian’s face. He didn’t look angry or menacing or flirtatious, nothing like the masks he normally wore. No, he looked at peace, for the first time in a long, long time.

It was difficult to speak, and Neal swallowed a few times to work around the lump in his throat, but he was compelled to speak.

“He wasn’t a good man, but...he was capable of better. I think he finally realized it.”

“Do you...do you know what his last wishes were?” Emma asked, wiping her eyes and sitting up straighter. Neal shook his head.

“I don’t. Maybe…”

“A pirate’s final resting place should be at sea.”

Neal was surprised to hear his father speak, and he looked up at him, baffled. 

“You think so?”

Rumplestiltskin looked at his son for a few moments, hearing the unspoken question, and nodded. Neal sighed, appreciating his father’s honesty and small act of kindness.

“Thanks, Papa.”

He finally turned back to Killian’s body and said, “Don’t worry, my friend. You’ll go home soon."

**Author's Note:**

> So...yeah. I'd have been sad to see Hook go, but honestly? This is what should have happened. Makes so much more sense for the story and the characters and all that other stuff. I had to rewatch a couple scenes to get in the groove for this and let me say, I did not plan on crying today! But I did!
> 
> Also...I know it was technically Rumple's body that Neal was..."absorbed" into, I guess, but I changed things around to suit my own needs. #CanonWhatCanon
> 
> Let me know what you think! :)


End file.
